Car coupler



D. ROBINSON April 18, 1933.

CAR COUPLER Original Filed Oct. 6, 1925 5 Sh ets-sheet, l

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April 18, 1933. D. ROBINSON 1,904,171

CAR COUPLER Original Filed Oct. e. 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet a w INVENTOR Dal id Robinson D. ROBINSON April 18, 1933.

CAR COUPLER Original Filed Oct. 6. 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR Dal id Robinson,

ATTbRNEY D. ROBINSON April 18, 1933.

CAR COUPLER Original Filed 001:. 6. 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR ,Daz/z'ei Habinsan ATT RNEY Patented Apr. 18, 1933 NETED STATES PATENT oFFice DAVID ROBINSON, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOB T NATIONAL MALLEABLE AND STEEL CASTIN GS COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A. CORPORATION OF OHIO GAR COUPLER Application filed October 6, 1925, Serial No. 60,733. Renewed December 16', 1930.

10 are partial elevations showing the application of uncoupling mechanism to my 1mproved coupler, Fig. 8 showing the coupled or locked position, Fig. 9 the lock held in retracted position, and Fig. 10 the uncoupling position.

My invention relates to car couplers of the vertical plane type and comprises a coupler particularly designed for service in mines and other situations in which it is necessary to have the coupler held positively in uncoupled position, and in which the coupler may be used merely as a pusher. My invention also comprises various features which I shall hereinafter describe and claim.

my invention applied to a coupler of the type shown in the application of John Willison, Serial No. 619,363, filed February 16, 1923, now Patent No. 1,614,515, granted Jan- 3 uary 18, 1927. The coupler head 2 has a buffing jaw 3 and a pulling jaw 4, connected by a bufling face 5 arranged on an axis inclined laterally to the line of draft. The pulling jaw has a laterally extending recess 4* to receive the complementary jaw 3 of an opposing coupler head, and its pulling face? engages a complementary face 8 on the bufling jaw of the opposing coupler head.

The lock 9 of the coupler is preferably in the form of a T with the arms or head 9 gitudinally from the buffing face 5 into the coupler head at an angle to the line of draft, and also by the lower face of the head 9 Seated in the opening 9 through the shank 9 of the lock is a spring 11 which also has 59 bearings 12 in the cavity 10, and normally Referring to the drawings, I have shown.

maintains the lock 9 in projected or locked position. 7 i

The lock 9 is operated by means of a bell crank lever 14 which has an arm 14 on the exterior of the coupler head and another arm 14 extending into the lock cavity, and which is pivoted at 15 on theexterior of the coupler head. The arm 14 has a right angled projection 14 which extends into a transverse aperture 9 in the lock forward-of the opening 9 and engages the lock therein. Attached to the arm 14 is the operating lever 16. An upward lift on the handle 17 of the lever or actuating member 16 will rotate the bell crank lever 14 and move'the arm 14 rearwardly in the cavity, thus causing the lock 9 to move rearwardly in the cavity against the pressure. of the spring and retracting the lock out of locked position, as is shown in Fig. 3. The lock is held in uncoupled position by means of the member 16, which. has been rotated about the end of the arm 14 until its end has engaged the coupler head and thus supports the arm 14 in ele: vated position and causes the arm 14 to maintain the lock in retractedor uncoupled position. When coupling is again desired the:

member 16 is pulled down into the position shown in Figs. land 2. This rotates the arm 14 downwardly, and the arm 14 outwardly, and thus permits the spring 11 to advance the lock 9 into position for coupling. When my improved coupler is coupled with another coupler, as the couplers come together the opposing coupler head, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, will push the lock rearwardly into the lock cavity against the pressure of the spring, and then as soon as the opposing coupler has reached coupling position, the lock is again advanced by the spring, thus completing the coupling operation.

While in mine car couplers, for which use my improved coupler is particularly applicable, it is not usual to equip the couplers with uncoupling rods or other similar actuating mechanism, it is desirable to provide such equipment'for other uses to which my invention maybe applied. Hence, in Figs. 8, 9and 10 I have shown an uncoupling rod connected to the operating mechanism of my improved coupler. The handle 37 of the member 36 is provided with an eye 38, to which an uncoupling chain 39 is attached, and the opposite end of the chain is attached to an arm of an uncoupling rod 40 which is mounted so that it may rotate in either direction. By swinging the rod 40 in a counter-clockwise direction, as is shown in Fig.

9, the member 36 is rotated to retract and hold retracted the lock 29. Then when it is desired to return the lock 29 to operative position, the rod 40 is rotated in a clockwise direction, as shown in Fig. 10. In so doing, the member 36 is tripped from the engagement'of itsend 41 upon the coupler, so that when the uncoupling rod is released, the lock is free under the impulse of the spring to move into position for coupling.

The terms and expressions which I have employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and I have no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any mechanical equivalents of the features shown and described, or portions thereof, but recognize that various structural modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.

What I claim is:

In a car coupler of the vertical plane type having a laterally extending buffing face and a plurality of fixed jaws having a pulling engagement with complementary jaws on an opposing coupler head, a horizontally movable T-shaped lock confined within the vertical extent of said jaws and normally projected forwardly of the line of said buffing face and arranged to engage a similar lock on an opposing coupler head of like design, the said look being capable of movement inwardly of said buffing face to permit the opposing coupler to reach coupling position, and a spring for normally maintaining the said lock in projected position.

DAVID ROBINSON. 

